Manufacture of flat wire cable.



No. 658,ll8. Patented Sept. 18, I900. E. l. masons. MANUFACTURE OF'FLAT WIRE CABLE.

(Application filed Inn. 2, 1900.)

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(Application filed Jan. 2, 1900.)

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UNITED ST TE P TENT OFFICE.

EDWARD I. PARSONS, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE AMERICAN STEEL AND WIRE COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

MANUFACTURE OF FLAT WIRE CABLE.

(SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 658,118. dated September 18, 1900.

Application filed January 2, 1900. Serial No. 48. (n model.)

ToaZZ whom it ma concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD I. PARSONS, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city and county of San Francisco, State of 5 California, have invented an Improvement in the Manufacture of Flat Wire Cable; and

I hereby declare the following to be a full,

clear, and exact description of the same.

My invention relates to an apparatus to be used in the manufacture of flat wire cables such as are formed by layinga series of ropes side by side and securing them together by wire stitching to form-a flat cable of any desired width,which is especially useful in minework and for hoisting purposes. In the manufacture of this class of cables it is customary to lay up a series of wire ropes of any suitable or desired size, said ropes being laid side by side until a cable of desired width can be made therefrom. These ropes are then stitched through from one side to the other and bound together by wires passed through the strands of said rope by suitable needles, the rope being thus sewed backward and forward until it is completed. Adifficulty arises in the manufacture of this rope on account of the unequal tension brought upon these sewingwires by reason of the difierent power applied by the operators in pulling the wires through. 0 The result is that when the cable is subjected to the strain of its work, such as hoisting heavy cages in mining-shafts, it is apt to be drawn or stretched and the edges unequally elongated, and this prevents the cable from hanging and winding evenly upon its winding-drums.

It is the object of my invention to overcome this difficulty, which I do by providing a tension device to be connected with the stitching or sewing wires, so that when they are pulled through from opposite sides and by different men they will all be subjected to practically the same tension, thus making an evenly-constructed flat cable.

My invention consists of a hook or equivalent device to which the sewing-wires are connected, and springs and disengaging latches are so arranged with relation to these parts that when a certain determined tension 50 has been brought upon the sewing-wires the latches will be disengaged and release the pull upon the'sewing-wires.

My invention also comprises details of construction, which will be more fully explained by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figs. 1 and 4 are general views of the device, Fig. 1 showing parts in section, and Fig.

4 showing parts in perspective and with the spring 3 broken-away. Fig. 2 is an end view of the same. Fig. 3 is a top view showing the use of an elongating spring. Fig. 5 is a side view of Fig. 3.

The frame consists of a disk A, to which the handle B is fixed. From this disk A rods a extend through disk C and disk D. The disk C slides upon the rods a, while the other ends of the rods are fixed tothe disk D, and between these two disks the spring 3 plays.

2 is a forked bar, carrying in its forked end the bar 7, which is guided in the fork byslots 14, having the pins E entering the same. This bar 7 terminates in a hook 13, and this book takes hold of the wire with which the ropes are sewed together. The body or shank F of the bar 2 is slidable through the center of disk D, and its outer end is screwed into the disk C, so that by pulling upon the handle B the disk D is caused to slide on part F and against the tension of the spring 3. front end of bar 7 is mounted a bell-crank. lever 6, one arm being formed into a latch 5 and held down by a spring 8 into engagement with a catch 4, formed in the split portion of bar 2, and so looking the bar 7to the bar 2. To the other arm of the lever 6 is hinged a rod 9, passing loosely through an eye 10, carried by the disk D. The outer part of rod 9 is screw-threaded and has nuts 12 moving upon it. These nuts are placed in such a position 0 that when pulling upon handle B the disk D is brought toward them, compressing the spring until the eye 10 strikes the nuts 12, consequently pulling upon rod 9 and upon lever 6 until its latch 5 is released from catch 4. This unlocks bars 2 and 7 from one another and releases the bar 7 ,with the hook and wire, and gives notice that a sufficient tension has been brought upon the wire. This tension or pull is produced by its connection with the In the 80 2 essii wire thread by which the ropes forming the cable are sewed together, as follows:

13 is a hook formed upon the end of the slidable bar 7, and this hook is connected with the wire thread. When the latter is being pulled through the cable, the operation will be as follows: The strands of the wire ropes are separated by a suitable tool and the wire by which the ropes are being sewed together is passed through these spaces by means of a suitable needle, and when it has been passed through all of the ropes which form the cable passing transversely across the width of it it is connected with the hook 13, and the operator taking hold of the handle pulls upon it. This pull extends or compresses the spring according to the character of spring used and allows the shank 2 to be pulled outwardly with relation to the handle and the disk through which the rod 9 slides. I

This rod then slides through the disk until the adjl'lsting-nut or equivalent adjusting device strikes the eye 10, and pulling upon the bell-crank lever finally disengages the latch 5 and allows the slidable bar upon which the hook is placed to suddenly slide along the shank until it is stopped by a pin or the end of the longitudinal slots, as shown at 14. This gives warning to the operator that he has pulled upon the wire the exact amount required to properly draw it through the strands of the ropes and to produce acertain tension thereon. The wire being then again passed through the ropes of the opposite side the other operatorwill by a similar apparatus pull upon the wire upon that side, and the next stitch will be formed with exactly the same tension as the previous one. This insures the strain upon the stitching-wires being equal in every case independent of the strength or pull of the operators, and the stitching being thus evenly done there will be no danger of the rope being warped or twisted by use after it is completed.

In Figs. 3 and 5 the constructions are substantially similar to those shown in Figs. 1 and 4: with a modified form of spring 3. In Figs. 3 and 5 the pull isa direct one upon the spring, which takes the frame A along, and with it the eye 10, to affect the rod 9 and to unlock the bar 7 from the forked bar2, as in Figs. 1 and 4c. In Fig. 2 the circles W, also shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, represent guide-rods to enable the operator to pull in line with the work to be done and not to one side, which would bend the wire unnecessarily.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. An apparatus for regulating the pull upon stitching-wires in the manufacture of fiat cable, consisting of a bar having a hook upon one end through which the pull is exerted, a shank or stem upon which the hookbar is slidably guided, said shank having a handle through which the pull thereon is exerted, a yielding spring through which connection is made between the handle and the shank, a latch mechanism connecting the hook-bar with the shank, and a device whereby the latch is disengaged when a given tension has been reached.

2. A tension regulating device for the stitching-wire used in the manufacture of fiat cables consisting of a slidable hook-bar through which the pull is exerted, a spring pressed latch fulcrumed to said bar, a shank with relation to which the hook-bar is guided and slidable, said shank having a catch adapted to be engaged by the latch of the hook-bar, a spring, a handle connected therewith and a yoke or frame through which pull upon the handle is transmitted to the shank and thence to the hook-bar, and a connection between the latch and said slidable frame whereby the latch is disengaged and the slidable bar released when a certain tension has been reached.

3. A tension-regulating device comprising a slidable bar having a hook at one end, a spring-pressed latch-lever fulcrumed to the other, a shank with relation to which the hook-bar is guided and slidable, said shank having a catch with which the latch-lever is adapted to engage, a frame or yoke with relation to which the shank and connected hook-bar are slidable, a spring and a handle through which pull is exerted thereon and a rod having one end connected with the latchlever and carrying an adjusting nut or like stop with which the frame contacts when the spring is acted upon by the pull and the required tension reached whereby the latch is disengaged and the hook-bar is allowed to slide upon its guide.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

nwARD 1. PARSONS.

Witnesses:

S. H. Nounsn, JESSIE O. BRODIE. 

